Joy for parents as Wyatt spends first Christmas at home

The parents of a boy who spent the first six months of his life in hospital say their best Christmas present was having their son at home.

Wyatt Makwana enjoyed two days of festivities with family in Folkingham and Grantham.

Wyatt was born was born with the rare congenital diaphragmatic hernia condition, or CDH, on April 18. He spent months hooked up to machines in hospital and parents Brian and Sam did not know when he would come home.

But things are now looking up for 2015. Brian said: “Christmas was fantastic. To have him home is something we were always geared up for. That was our primary focus when he was recovering in hospital.

“Having him home beat any Christmas present. It was priceless.”

Brian and Sam, originally from Castle Bytham, spent the majority of 2014 in hospital with their son, where he underwent a number of complicated procedures. He was born with just five per cent of his diaphragm intact. He had to have a large artificial patch stitched to it and had to undergo ECMO treatment regularly to bypass his heart and lungs and allow the organs time to recover.

Doctors also gave Wyatt a tracheostomy, which helps him breathe. But he is now beginning to live a relatively normal life.

“He’s coming along in leaps and bounds,” said Brian. “His first consultation appointment was about a month ago. The doctors were really positive.

“He could potentially have his tracheostomy out in the summer of 2016.”

Brian and Sam were able to cope with Wyatt’s condition in part thanks to the CDH UK charity. They have plenty of fundraising events planned for 2015.

“It was a tough 2014 but me and Sam stayed strong,” said Brian. “The biggest influence was both sides of the family. We are looking forward to 2015 and hopefully having a bit more of a positive year.”